Lakers Bounce Back with Sweep of Monroe

 

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. - The Finger Lakes Community College baseball team emerged victorious in both games of a doubleheader versus Monroe Community College on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers fell to Cayuga Community College twice on Friday, but rebounded with 10-3 and 5-4 wins over the Tribunes to cap off three straight days of action, over which they went 4-2.

 

The Lakers overpowered the Tribunes from the start in game one with 7 unanswered runs over 3 innings, highlighted by a 2 RBI double from Brennen Russo (East Irondequoit, N.Y./Eastridge) in the bottom of the second, along with a 2 RBI single from Shaun Cannon (Spencerport, N.Y./Spencerport) to put the team up 6-0 in the bottom of the third, while the Tribunes found their only 3 runs in the latter half of the game. Brennen Russo swiped home base in the sixth inning, succeeded by an RBI single from Ethan Kuzma (Middleport, N.Y./Royalton-Hartland) that brought home Julian Woodworth (Medina, N.Y./Medina) to give the Lakers their tenth and final run of the game to cap a strong showing. Freshman Nathan Power (Victor, N.Y./Victor) earned the start and delivered one of his best performances of the season yet with 6 strikeouts and just 3 runs allowed over five innings of action. Dom Morsch (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) came in for the last 2 innings and dealt out 2 strikeouts and allowed 0 runs. 

 

In contrast to game one, the Lakers struggled on both sides to start out game two when the Tribunes jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a few innings of play. It wasn't until the bottom of the third that they got on the board, when Brennen Russo and Trey Buchholz (Shinglehouse, P.A./Bolivar Richburg) both reached home on errors to cut the deficit to 2. Jacob Gould (Middleport, N.Y/Royalton-Hartland) ignited the offensive engine an inning later when he tied up the contest with a 2 RBI double that advanced Markus Brehm (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) to third base. Brehm was then brought home thanks to a sacrifice fly by Joey Sanna (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) to give the Lakers the go-ahead run; their third comeback victory in 6 games. Aiden Reed (Shortsville, N.Y./Red Jacket) pitched his first complete game of the season to earn the win and improve to 4-0. Reed finished the game with just 2 earned runs to his name and 3 strikeouts over seven innings.

 

The Lakers (24-12, 8-6) will enjoy 2 days of rest before their return home next Tuesday, April 22nd for a matchup with SUNY Niagara. The Thunderwolves boast an unblemished record of 35-0 to date and are ranked #2 in the most recent NJCAA DIII baseball rankings; setting the stage for an exciting matchup at home.